Through repeated strenuous motion, sensitive soft tissues often suffer wear and tear injuries from repeatedly rubbing against one another and/or hard tissues, such as bone. Tears of rotator cuff tendons and articular capsule disintegration are examples of this type of injury. In addition, these tissues can be adversely affected by inflammation, infection, disease and/or genetic predispositions which lead to degeneration of these tissues.
Other bodily injuries, such as fractures of hollow bones (i.e. having medullar cavities) and depression fractures of vertebra require complex procedures for treatment, for example alignment and fixation of multiple bone fragments for the former and disc replacement for the latter.
Various solutions to problems in treatment of these injuries have been proposed, for example:
U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2007/0198022 to Lang, et al., the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, describes methods, compositions and tools for repairing articular surfaces repair materials and for repairing an articular surface. The articular surface repairs are customizable or highly selectable by patient and geared toward providing optimal fit and function. The surgical tools are designed to be customizable or highly selectable by patient to increase the speed, accuracy and simplicity of performing total or partial arthroplasty.
JP Pat. App. Pub. No. 2006-247257 to Yasuhiko, et al., the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a bone cement injector which is equipped with an injection tube and a balloon detachably mounted on one end of the injection tube, where the balloon is formed with a bioabsorptive material. Using the bone cement injector of this invention, the balloon is inserted into the damaged section of the vertebra to be treated, and subsequently the bone cement is injected into this balloon. Thereby, the bone cement can be injected into the corpus vertebra of the damaged part of the vertebra while preventing the blood from mixing in the bone cement and the bone cement from leaking into the vertebral canal.
U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2005/0245938 to Kochan, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a device for repair of intervertebral discs and cartilages in articular joints includes a catheter for inserting through a cannula, the catheter having a distal end and a proximal end and a lumen extending longitudinally therethrough. An expandable balloon may optionally be detachably attached to the catheter near the distal end. The proximal end of the catheter is coupled to an injector that holds a supply of a thermoplastic elastomer material at a predetermined elevated temperature sufficiently high to maintain the thermoplastic elastomer at a liquid state. The device allows a thermoplastic elastomer material to be injected into the intervertegral disc space or the articular joint space as a replacement prosthetic for the disc's nucleus pulposus or the joint's cartilage. This procedure is carried out percutaneously through the cannula.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,755,862 to Keynan, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, describes an intramedullary support strut for a long bone for a range of different applications including anchoring and fixation. The strut is in the form of nested telescopic members. In the retracted configuration, the strut is compact and may be inserted into position aligned with a shaft made in the medullary canal via a portal made in the lateral cortex of the bone. The strut may then be telescopically extended into the medullary canal to provide the required support.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,613,052 to Kinnett, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, describes an apparatus developed to enable a surgeon to perform multiple orthopedic surgical operations, such as orthopedic surgical resectioning, total joint replacement and fixation of fractures, based on a single reference point. The apparatus is adjustable to conform to the needs and dimensions of individual patients and the surgical procedure(s) to be performed. The apparatus includes a support adapted for insertion into and alignment within the medullary cavity of a patient's bone. The support is capable of expanding into the bone so that the support is fixed within the bone and alignable to the bone. The support may be implanted to align a fractured bone, or extend a distance beyond its fixed position within the medullary cavity to provide a known surgical reference point. The apparatus includes one or more cutting guides mountable on the support and used in performing the desired surgical procedure(s). The cutting guides are positionable with respect to the known surgical reference point created by the support which enables the user to accurately position and secure various instruments at the desired position about the patient's anatomy.